Griffith, 32, slouched in a chair inside the firehouse kitchen and buried his head in his hands.

"Do they give me a hard time?" he said, peering up from the table, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Of course!'' Griffith, however, is proud to point out that he is the only firefighter from a Broward County department chosen to appear in the calendar, whose proceeds benefit the burn center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. All the others are from Dade departments.

"It gives you a pretty big ego," Griffith said and laughed. "Does this mean he's going to be on Oprah?" joked Tamarac Vice Mayor Sharon Machek, after learning that Griffith had made the calendar. "I guess I will buy one and have him autograph it so I can contribute to the burn center."

Getting picked for the calendar is competitive business, said Ophelia Stern, spokeswoman for the hospital's burn center.

In April, about 200 firefighters from Palm Beach to Monroe counties posed shirtless for photographers. Of that group, 45 were selected as semifinalists. Those went on to the finals, judged by a group of celebrities on Miami's South Beach.

Last year, calendar sales raised about $20,000 for the burn center, Stern said.

"We knew he'd do good," said Tamarac Fire acting Lt. Paul Kelly, who works "B" shift with Griffith. "He kind of helped some of the guys get into shape."

Griffith, of North Lauderdale, used to make headlines when he rode bulls at the Davie rodeo arena in the early 1990s, but this newfound notoriety hasn't come easy. He went on a special diet, hired a personal trainer and was irritable for months because of his limited diet.

"I trained, I dieted, I had a nutritionist," Griffith said. "When I started, I had 18 percent body fat. The day of the first contest I had dieted down to 4.8 percent body fat. I ate chicken, chicken and more chicken."

Since being chosen for the calendar, Griffith and the other firefighters featured have become local celebrities. They got to ride in the Orange Bowl parade, strutted in local fashion shows and signed calendars at bars and Spec's music stores.

Griffith's wife, Liz, said it's funny to see women shouting and clamoring for her husband's autograph. Usually, she said, she doesn't get jealous.

"He's just a regular guy," she said. "It just depends on how good-looking the person is who's chasing him."

Doug Griffith said his three sons aren't impressed. They have all done modeling and are used to seeing their own photos published in clothing catalogs.

"They think it's cool because they can show the kids in school I'm in the calendar," he said.

The calendars are available at Spec's music stores or by calling 1-800-435-3629 or 305-828-7787.